Slow cooker Pulled Pork

Here is my first cooking post, and its about something I’m actually cooking – yes, right now. As I write this there are 2 lbs of pork in my brand spanking slow cooker, bubbling away getting tender and juicy.

Slow Cooker in situ with her new buddies

After reading a post on Canyoustayfor dinner about a slow cooker version of beef chili, I simply had to acquire the means, without delay. Off I went to the store next day and now it has a place on my kitchen counter, nestled between the blender/food processor and Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It seems at home to me.

Part of my motivation for blogging is to get some response to my culinary fare. My new family appreciate having dinner made for them (frozen pasta or tamales wears thin eventually), though they really wouldn’t mind if it was simply meat and potatoes every night. I need more variety than that and rather than insisting they give me their opinions (like pulling teeth), I thought perhaps the blogosphere might be a better place to fulfill that need.

Without further delay, Pulled pork! I must confess, at this juncture, that I’ve only tasted pulled pork once, and I loved it. I’m also Australian with no BBQ skills in my genetic inheritance or even much knowledge. So now you begin to see why I called this blog Clever in the Kitchen. I am fortunate enough to succeed at most dishes I attempt. I know what I like and after about 35 years of playing around in the kitchen I have some idea of what flavors will co-exist, and those that might enliven one another. So I experiment, with about a 95% rate of success. Failures are usually turned into a different dish, and mostly no-one knows the difference. I also spend waaaay too much time on the internet looking at recipe sites, and food blogs, and hopefully getting the benefit of others’ experience.

So on to the pork. We have a very generous Portuguese farmer friend who regularly gifts us pork chops. There are many ways to cook pork chops, and I’ve tried quite a few. What many of those ways have in common are that they are usually too dry for my taste. I know, I probably overcook them because of my concern about under-cooked pork.

Pork Chops

So instead of trying to find yet another recipe for pork chops, I took a look at this 2 lb bag in our freezer and decided that they have enough fat on them to be re-purposed… into pulled pork. I then Googled slow cooker pulled pork did my research, took a look in my refrigerator and store cupboard and came up with this.

RECIPE

2 lb pork chops (with some fat)

medium onion roughly chopped

3/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp teriyaki sauce

2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tspns chopped/crushed garlic

Mix liquids in a small pitcher. Add onion and garlic to slow cooker then add pork and pour over liquid. Set to high for 5 hours. Remove meat to a board carefully (a big slotted spoon works well, as it will be falling apart) and shred with two forks, removing any fat pieces that remain.